President Duda: US troops training 'historic moment' for Poland

“This is a very important day, a historic moment; we welcome our American allies with great joy,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday at a training ground in Żagań, western Poland.

Polish President Andrzej Duda in Żagan on Monday. Photo: KPRP

The president attended the beginning of training by Polish and US troops who came to Poland in January as part of a programme aimed at strengthening NATO's eastern flank.

“This is a very important day. I have come here to Żagań to welcome our guests and allies, commanders and soldiers of the US army,” Duda said, adding that he was very glad to attend “this historic moment”.

“Those who have come today are our allies, a symbol of freedom and order in the world, but above all of security; allies whom we have invited and for whom we have been waiting,” the president said.

Amid fears of Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, NATO decided at a Warsaw summit in July to deploy four rotating multinational battalions of some 1,000 soldiers each to the military alliance’s eastern borders.

In addition, the United States announced that an armoured brigade would be deployed to the region.